Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Automobiles are an emotional expression of what harbours inside us. While this moth's scene at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show was full industry-driven passion, no amount of marketing or focus groups can capture how a customer falls in love with their vehicle. Sometimes it is through understanding the feelings of a vehicle's designer when we can grasp what makes us love our beloved. Car FYI's Car of the Month award recognises this heartfelt connection residing in this culture.

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending a feast of automotive expression at Toronto's International Centre. The 2015 Motorama Custom Car & Motorsport Expo featured the coming together of expression and speed. Familiarized with the new car world where automotive creativity is defined by items manufactured in hundreds of thousands in some cases, the show was a chance to witness some rare and one of a kind vehicles. For this article, I must single-out one creation that made its global debut.A highlight of Friday attendance at the 2015 Motorama Custom Car & Motorsport Expowas a special unveiling at a display showcasing the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. CBRT (Canada’s Best Racing Team) prepared surprised a six-year-old fan of series driver Erica Thiering with a unique vehicle. A month prior to the car show, a girl named Ava wanted to create a special colour scheme for Thiering’s car. With the aid of her father, Andrew Warrington, a bright pink vehicle with blue stars came to life on a computer screen. With the blessing of Ava, the design was posted on Twitter capturing the attention of CRBT. To the surprise of the young girl, the design came to life in Toronto. Using a body wrap (basically a large decal applied over the race car’s fiberglass shell), the #87 #RaceCarByAva Ford Fusion was presented on the floor of the Motorama Custom Car & Motorsport Expo.

In what must have been a whirlwind experience, the six-year-old Ava handled the attention during the March 13th unveiling rather well. Posing beside the vehicle and spending time with her role model Erica Thiering in front of the event’s media gathering, it was a great reminder of how heartfelt and emotionally driven the whole automobile culture is in Canada. Later on Friday, Ava also mingled with other headline guests at the 2015 Motorama Custom Car & Motorsport Expo. Her time at the show also reportedly included meeting former NASCAR Camping World Series champion Todd Bodine and Courtney Hansen, model television and television personality for shows including Powerblock TV.

Seeing a six-year-old having the one of the more memorable days in her young life was definitely meaningful enough to honour with March’s Car FYI Car of the Month Award.